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Posted by Prometheus on July 7, 2007, 10:12 pm
Please log in for more thread options On Wed, 04 Jul 2007 18:51:30 -0700, Too_Many_Tools
>Recently a small 30 ton Scotchman (Dorvak) 314 ironworker followed me
>home...it had such sad eyes...I just couldn't say "No". :<)
>
>Well this ironworker has led a tough life...apparently it came from a
>school where maintainance was an exception, not the rule. Fortunately
>it was seldomly used so there is a lot of life in it with a little
>loving care.
>
>I would be interested in hearing from those who have a similar
>ironworker...here are some pictures similar to what followed me home.
>
>http://www.redrivermach.com/used_invent/specs/90076-01.JPG
>
>http://www.machinetools.com/MT/machines/index.tmpl?page=detail&ListingID=118072174423291466
>
>I would be interested in pictures of your machine (I suspect I may be
>missing some parts) and what mods you have made (infeed/outfeed
>tables, guards, mounted on wheels, etc.).
I don't have one myself, but I've used them in several shops, with a
number of different "accessories".
Judging by the pictures you've linked to, there are a few things you
can do to make the thing safer and more useful, and none of them are
that hard to do yourself.
First order of business would be to make tables for the notcher (I am
assuming that there is one in there somewhere, though I didn't see it
right away in the picture.) An L-shaped one around the outside of the
cutting head works pretty well, and it just needs to be big enough to
handle whatever you're planning on doing with it. Drill and tap holes
in the table every 2-3", and make some scrap blocks that you can use
for guides (or clamps, if needed) If you don't want to drill and tap,
I've seen scrap clamped on with vise grips to do the same job a number
of times, but they do have a tendancy to wiggle around if you are
doing a lot of parts.
Second is a table or set of tables for the punch. It'll help keep the
part level, and make your life a lot easier. You can do the same
thing as with the notcher, drilling and tapping a number of holes, or
clamping scrap to the table for repeatability. As a purchased
accessory, I've seen a few of these (different brand, but similar
tool) that have a little 2 axis CNC controller that will move the
table for you. A determined guy could probably slap one of these
together himself without too much trouble, and they do make like
easier if you need to do something like punch a line of holes in
several parts.
To tell you the truth, I've never used the right angle shear, and
wouldn't know what to do with it. We've always had a better way of
cutting material close at hand anywhere where I've used one of these
machines.
As far as safety goes, if your machine looks like those pictures,
there is an awful lot that can be done- the good news is that it's
relatively simple stuff to do.
For the shear and punch heads, a |_| shaped piece of sheet metal with
a slot in either side can make a pretty effective guard- just make
sure you tap the holes that hold it on in a non-moving part. A screw
on either side will allow you to slide it up or down so that the metal
can slide in, but your fingers can not. With the little guys, any old
sheet metal will do, with bigger ones, sometimes it's nice to use
expanded metal so that you can see what is going on in there.
The linkages can be covered with a sheetmetal box, or a box made of
expanded metal. In a pinch, even plywood would probably do the trick.
You won't need to see them unless you're doing maintainance, but you
do want to make sure you can't get tangled up in them when operating
the machine. I've got a sneaking suspicion that these machines have
been responsible for a lot of missing fingers in the past, and it
doesn't pay to take chances with them. On most of the older
"ironworker" machines I've seen that are still in commerical use,
these guards have been added at the shop, and they really don't
interfere with using the machine in any meaningful way. The new ones
come with the guards described already installed.
One of the other posters mentioned not installing the punch dies
upside down, and that's good advice. Make sure you're using a die
with the proper clearance as well- you don't use a 1/2" punch with a
1/2" die for 11 ga steel, for example- a 1/2" punch might require a
die that is as much as 3/16" larger. Hopefully you've got some
documentation for that with the machine- if not, contact a punch
supplier like Wilson tools, and see if they'll send you a poster with
common die clearances.
The only other safety thing I can think of that might not be
immediately obvious, is that when you use the notcher on a piece of
steel, you need to hold the material firmly- they like to grab the end
of the bar and yank it down, swinging the other end up towards you.
If you have any doubts at all about your ability to hold it, clamp it
down before hitting the pedal- better to spend 10 extra seconds
clamping, than 10 hours in an ER. As an extra bonus, clamped parts
tend to end up with a cleaner (less angled) shear cut.
>I would also be interested in what accessories anyone had made for
>their ironworker. This ironworker has a straight shear, punch and
>right angle shear. While I have read that this ironworker did have
>accessory options, it is not apparent where they would fit...I suspect
>someone might have welded the right angle shear table to the main
>machine. Can anyone confirm whether this station is removable or not?
>Since it has had several paint jobs (I have one scheduled for it after
>it has been refubished, I cannot tell if this station is original or
>modified.
I think what you're calling the straight shear is what I called a
notcher above, for the sake of clarity. You could weld the table to
the machine, sure. More likely, it is bolted on, but that just
depends on who had it before you. Usually they're bolted because most
people don't like welding cast iron, and tapping is really a whole lot
easier.
>Finally does anyone have a link to any documentation that discusses
>the safe operation of an ironworker? While its operation is apparent,
>like any tool there are issues that one must be aware to operate it
>efficiently and safely. Time to read the instruction before...and not
>after an accident due to ignorance.
I've had a lot of luck contacting manufacturers directly to get
manuals when I've bought tools secondhand. Even if it's really old,
sometimes they keep them in a filing cabinet somewhere, and will send
you a photocopy of the original. If not, try getting an electronic
version of a manual for a similar newer machine. There will be a bit
of CNC stuff in there that will be irrelevant to yours, but the basics
don't change much.
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